The scientific and medical debate is open: the brain is the main sanctuary site for HIV during therapy, could short-term planned eradication trials have a devastating effect at this level?

Toulon, France, December 23, 2010 -- welcomes a series of scientific papers in the literature confirming that the brain is the major reservoir and sanctuary site during HIV infection, even in patients with successfully controlled plasma viremia on antiretroviral therapy.

Even if HIV-associated dementia has largely disappeared in clinical practice, neuropsychological studies have confirmed that cognitive impairment occurs in a substantial (15–50%) proportion of patients. Over the last few years, the study of antiretroviral penetration in the central nervous system has led to the concept that persisting neurocognitive disorders despite virologic suppression and immune recovery on therapy is due to inadequate treatment of brain HIV infection due to relatively poor penetration of many antiretrovirals across the blood–brain barrier.

Unfortunately, a recent study published in the medical journal ‘AIDS’ shows that the correlation between drug diffusion in the brain and neurocognitive status is weak, suggesting that some people may require more than 3 antiretrovirals to treat HIV in the brain.

Moreover, the well known Baltimore group publishes a more disturbing ‘opinion’ in the same journal arguing that some fundamental questions have to be resolved before moving to HIV eradication trials, unless the consequences on the brain could be devastating… But some eradication trials have just started...

About Us
The medical debate goes on at www.hiv-reservoir.net, the Reference Portal on HIV Reservoirs, HIV Cure, HIV Eradication.

Contact:
Alain Lafeuillade
CHITS
1208 avenue Colonel Picot
83056 Toulon, France
33494616340
lafeuillade@orange.fr" target="_blank">lafeuillade@orange.fr
http://www.hiv-reservoir.net